40-year-old Chinese man arrested at JKIA with ivory disguised as cups

By CYRUS OMBATI

A Chinese national was at the weekend arrested at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport after he was found with 3.4 kg of ivory.

The 40-year-old man was travelling from Napula, Mozambique to Guangzhou, China.

Police said the ivory was in his luggage and had been disguised as cups.

Airport CID boss Joseph Ngisa said the arrest was made on Saturday evening and that the man will appear in court today to face charges.

“We are seeing an increase of suspects originating in Mozambique with the ivory, but we are keen to stop the practice,” said Ngisa.

The arrest came only two days after another Chinese national was arrested with ivory, leopards’ skin and multiple passports. He is believed to be behind a number of cases of smuggling of people and ivory in the country, police said.

 The 41-year-old suspect was arrested in the Riverside estate, Nairobi.

 Kenya and the Chinese government are collaborating to fight poaching and illegal trade in wildlife.

 The international trade in elephant ivory, with rare exceptions, was outlawed in 1989 after elephant populations in Africa dropped from millions in the mid-20th century to 600,000 by the end of the 1980s.

Ivory trade is banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. East African countries have recently recorded an increase in poaching incidents.